Substandard and fake ICT products are a serious issue that impacts developed and developing economies, the ICT industry, as well as the consumer population around the world. The costs and negative effects of substandard and fake ICT products on all stakeholders are broad and numerous—ranging from lost taxes, royalties and other revenues; decreased sales, prices and operations; erosion of brand value, goodwill and reputation; reduced incentive to innovate and invest; lower employment and economic growth rates; network disruptions and interoperability challenges resulting in poor quality of service delivery and reception; and risks to health, safety and environment. According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the value of counterfeit products globally is expected to exceed USD 1.7 trillion by 2015.

In November 2014, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 (PP-14) adopted a new Resolution on “Combating counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices” (Busan, 2014). Prior to that, the ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014 (WTDC-14) adopted new Resolution 79 (Dubai, 2014) on “The role of telecommunications/information and communication technologies in combating and dealing with counterfeit telecommunication/information and communication devices.” A link to the text of each of these Resolutions may be found on this website, below. Among other things, these new Resolutions:

(i) recognize that counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices have become a growing problem;

(ii) recognize that ITU and relevant stakeholders have a key role to play in fostering coordination between the parties concerned to study the impact of counterfeit devices and the mechanism for limiting them and to identify ways of dealing with them internationally and regionally;

(iii) instruct the Directors of the ITU Bureaus to assist Member States in addressing their concerns with respect to counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices through information sharing at regional or global level, including conformity assessment systems; and

(iv) invite ITU Member States to take all necessary measures to combat counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices, to cooperate and exchange expertise among themselves in this area, and to encourage participation in industry programs combating counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices.

​The objectives of this ITU event are threefold, namely to: (1) discuss the global scope and impact of counterfeiting and substandard ICT products on various stakeholders; (2) highlight the common concerns, challenges, initiatives, practices and opportunities of the various stakeholders in their fight against counterfeiting and substandard ICT products; and (3) examine the possible role of ICT standards development organizations (SDOs) and in particular the ITU, as part of the global strategy and solution to curtail counterfeiting and substandard ICT products as well as to assist members in addressing their concerns regarding counterfeit devices.

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Both participants and non-participants in this Event are invited and encouraged to submit to ITU their written contributions concerning the following:

Specific experiences, data, statistics or studies that help illustrate the problem of counterfeit and/or substandard ICT devices, as well as its scope, impact and related security concerns at all levels (including business, consumer, national and international).

Country case studies, including policy, regulatory and enforcement measures and initiatives taken by governments, regarding the combat against the spread of counterfeit and/or substandard ICT devices, and lessons learned in respect of the same.

Examples of ways in which ICTs, standards and other technologies are currently being used, or could be used in the future, as tools to fight counterfeit and/or substandard ICT devices.

Particular initiatives, including campaigns, partnerships or other programmes, implemented to enhance awareness and combat counterfeit and/or substandard ICT devices, and lessons learned in respect of the same.

Contributions should be sent to ITU by email addressed to seminar-counterfeiting@itu.int , no later than Monday, 3 November 2014 (Note: Deadline extended to Monday, 10 November 2014). Suggested template for contributions can be downloaded here.All contributions will be posted on the ITU’s website, where they will be available for viewing and download (free of charge) by the general public. Although the contributions will not be specifically presented at the Event, they may be used by ITU in connection with any of its future work on issues relating to counterfeit and substandard ICT devices.